29th November 2010  

Winter seems to have arrived in earnest, and Christmas suddenly feels very close to hand. Indeed, later on this week I will start my programme of Christmas visits – when I call in to the Royal Mail sorting office in Yeovil this Friday morning, 3rd December. Later in the morning I will visit Yeovil Hospital, and before I take a tour of the wards with Mayor Phil Chandler, I will drop in for a chat with Chief Executive Gavin Boyle and Chairman Angela Dupont.  After our hospital visit, the Mayor and I will call in at Rowan Place, off Preston Road, and we will then visit the brilliant St. Margaret’s Hospice in Yeovil to meet staff and patients. These visits are not just an opportunity to thank staff and to meet residents – they are also a great way to pick up “intelligence” from the “front line”, so that I know what is actually going on in the...